My watch is broken, I can not wait for you to get here
The sun is heating,(I cannot believe) today, we're finally meeting.
I'm not quite sure how I'm gonna act or what I'm gonna say
But of one thing I'm sure, when you'll be in front of me, you'll take my breath away.
While I'm waiting, my mind is flying away
From the moment you'll get here, to the first move you'll make.
I just wish, this day to be perfect
I hope I'm ready for any unexpected events.
It's getting late and you're nowhere to be found
I'm getting all kinds of emotions, but is nothing I can do about..
The park is empty, looks like the rain is gonna arrive
I guess I should be going too, nothing makes me stay around.
Maybe you got stuck in traffic or you've just changed your mind,
Either way, I better go now, maybe we'll get to meet some other time..
And now my battery is dying, I have such a lucky day,
I don't think this day could get any better,
>>no 'eff!n' way!!<<
Where should I go now? to the hotel or to a pub?
I'll get me something to drink before Imma call it a nite.
I don't find my card key, guess I'm losing my mind..
Huh?!
Who the 'eff' are you 'my friend'?
Why do you have to honk so loud?
you: Hey!!!
me: Gosh, you scared me!
you: Where are you going? don't we have a date?
me: Hey, you're the one that got here late.
you: Yeah, I'm sorry. look, I've been running all the way...
me: Cool. I'm glad you came.
I'm starving. where you gonna take me?
you: well, since our picnic is ruined, thanks to the coming rain..
lemme take you to my favorite restaurant..
me: sounds great. OK.
While in the car, you've turned on the radio
And the silliest song was playing in the air
Smiling, you looked at me and started dancing
Gosh, you're amazing. (that's what I said)
We've got to the restaurant
It's getting pretty hot
No sign of the rain now
Guess she just changed her mind.
When I stepped inside
My favorite song was playing .. so loud
And once you've heard it, you took my hand in yours and smiled
you: Hey, this is our song since now!!
Since then I got this feeling, this awesome feeling inside
I'm with the right person and the nite has just begun
You're full of surprises, beautiful and kind
For me you are so special, I'll roll my dice tonight.
Next thing I know, we were back in the car
The music was playing loud, you were driving too far
The last stop we've made, was at the hotel I'm staying
You grabbed me in your arms and .. and then's when it started ... raining.
The weather gets colder, your hand is on my shoulder,
I ask you if you want to come and wait inside.
The fireplace is on, your clothes are on the stove
I bring you comfy clothes, while you're in the shower.
The rain is falling from the sky, the night is deep, looks black and white
I pour you a glass of wine while getting closer.
The electricity goes off, all of a sudden
We're in the dark, the music stops - I lit (up) a candle.
Looks like the rain has stopped now (or for the moment)
I pour you another glass of wine..
I touch your hand, you're grabbing mine
And pull me closer.
The last thing I remember, you were playing through my hair
I felt your (warm) breath down on my neck and I've kissed your shoulder
Slowly, you laid me down, on the floor, whispering something in my ear
Your fingers were walking down my spine, I've closed my eyes.. that's when we've kissed.
We've spent the night together, sleeping in each other arms
I was your blanket, you were my pillow - the dawn was coming fast.
I woke up and.. watching you sleeping
You found me smiling when you've opened your eyes.
Things went so fast - time was flying by
Only four days, until we say goodbye.
All the sand from the beach, the pictures framed in our minds
The scrambled eggs in the mornings, (all those) kisses (stolen) through the night.
While I'm counting the seconds, my mind is flying away
From the moment we've met, to the last thing you'll say.
I just wish, this day to last forever
I hope our story will never have an end.
In the airport, while waiting for our planes to come
Our silly love song was playing one more time
And once again, you took my hand in yours and smiled
That's when you've asked me, if I want to be ... your wife.

There is a house on the cliff’s edge,
Around a quiet, unmarked shoreline
At night, the tide lifts high against a foggy moon
In the morning, gloomy clouds settle with the sea
At times, not even the birds are seen or heard
The house is left to nature’s caress
Home-crafted seashell chimes sway and sing with the wind
Crushed sand dollars lie together on the back porch
The shells were once whole, collected by the former owners
Long gone are they now, smiling with the moon
The owners are the very sound of the ocean spray,
Striking the rocks, announcing the cool dawn of day
They are not the dark, empty rooms,
The rooms that nobody thinks of as they go about their lives
The quiet owners are long gone—thought of only by one
A stillborn legacy about as tiresome as the sun,
When the clouds crisp out its beams . . .
A seawater puddle is in the middle of the dining room
Nobody knows it sits there, sinking in the floorboards
It used to be a far larger puddle after a storm,
Stealthily leaking into the house
But now it is small—so small—and the boards are moist,
Moist with its only companion amongst the instilled silence
Nobody thinks of empty, abandoned rooms
Nobody remembers the former owners
They were not much for socials and gatherings
They always lived their quiet, happy lives
Without a care of the outside world,
Far from anybody’s thought
Miles from the nearest home
Where the next generation comfortably lives
He never finished fixing that leak . . .
Sometimes the puddle gets bigger after other storms
And when it does, there is almost life there again
You can see the chandelier reflected on the unperturbed water
As a crystal dangles and falls from on high
The dark silence following the drop is as deep as thought . . .
Nobody thinks of empty, abandoned rooms
Nobody remembers the former owners
There is merely a house on the cliff’s edge
Around a quiet, unmarked shoreline
-March 21, 2013-

I've got a tropical obsession
I think I'm losing my mind
I want to see my work day done
Go out and have some fun
And leave the city life behind.
I love the roar of the ocean
The smell of tanning lotion
A secluded beach somewhere
There are coconuts in the trees
With a warm and gentle breeze
And a flower in your hair.
I've got a tropical obsession
It's driving me up a wall
I want the palm trees and the shore
Blue skies and so much more
Oh God! I want it all
There's an island in the sea
I can hear it calling me
Saying come on home today
I'll bring my old beach chair
Plant it in the sand somewhere
And that's where I'm going to stay
I've got a tropical obsession
And I just can't set it free
On an island remote
In a little fishing boat
Is where I want to be.

I wanted to put myself in a space occupied by happiness
Sweet embrace of the breeze felt in the sea side of Pahut Bongao near Sanga-sanga
Everyone is happy doing the ritual of Panulak Bala’
The month to throw misfortunes that Tausug believed
Beach full of dancing waves from the sea
Never limit the horizon of falling leaves of trees
2 January 2013
Bongao, Tawi-Tawi Island
Sulu Archipelago

As I stride on the soil of ecstasy
Feeling the winds of serenity
Making peace within my soul
Breathing by every second that I hold
While walking along the sands of gold
I leave behind a story to be told
With a beautiful feeling I’ll never grow old
I walk the miles on the sands of gold
As my feet kiss the cold blue waves
I stretch my arms just to fly away
Closing my eyes with calmness I sway
Loosing track of every second by day
Looking up to the sky I hear the sounds,
The sounds of bees, the sounds of trees,
The sounds of the enthralling orchestral breeze
Hypnotising me with the sound of the deep blue sea
So I sit back and reflect on the soil of ecstasy
The soil of joy, the soil of peace,
The soil where I would love to be
The soil called Goa where my soul meets.
- Sherwin Fernandes

I am reminded of songs by the Beach Boys
who sang of idyllic summers
The city beaches are with
lifeguards to protect those in danger
The asphalt homeland
is filled with tourists
and I also note that there are youth
playing handball in the parks
Light from the sky beats down on the homeland
The masses of people in the city
are experiencing a heat wave
The water stations are open
So the people can drink deep
Everyone possible should drink deep
of the joys of summer in
what O.Henry called
"Baghdad on the Hudson"

SONG OF THE SEA TURTLES.
If we had ears to hear,
A tale of many a year-
Turtles travel, my dears,
Round the world all year.
What sights turtles do see,
Swimming the deep blue sea!
Turtles travel, my dears,
Round the world all year.
Turtles so clumsy on land,
In water, a graceful band.
Turtles travel, my dears,
Round the world all year.
Oh, I wish we had ears to hear,
Turtle tales over the years.
Turtles travel, my dears,
Round the world all year.

Oooohh! You cruise to the beach.
You cruise to the sand.
You cruise all across this land.
Oooohh! And when it gets hot.
You find the right spot.
A spot with lots of shade.
Oooohh! And when it gets hot.
You find the right spot.
Where the water's clear and fresh.
Because Oooohh! It's a very, very, very hot day.
And the water just cools you down..
Cools you down..
Cools you down..
It's a very, very, very hot day.
And the water just cools you down.
Cools you down..
Cools you down..
Oooohh! You cruise to the Sun.
You join in on the fun.
View the desert along the way.
Oooohh! And when it gets hot.
You find the right spot.
A place to cool it down..
Oooohh! And when it gets hot.
You find the right spot.
An oasis near the sand.
Because Oooohh! It's a very, very, very hot day.
And the water just cools you down.
Cools you down..
Cools you down..
It's a very, very, very hot day.
And the water just cools you down..
Cools you down..
Cools you down..
Beach Lyrics by Kim Robin Edwards
Copyright 1985,2014..
All rights reserved..

Chill by beach of Pitas.
Rain comes in a heavy task.
Return home to a break.
Another night to medicate tired.
Thanks Allah we intend.
Well-intentioned we are blessed.
Preach in the village of Rungus.
The Maulud rejoiced.
Kota Marudu we go.
Still raining until while ago!
Kota Kinabalu
21 Jan 2014

I met a man while walking
Along a deserted shore
Who tipped his cap and smiled at me
Then asked me what's the score
The score, I do not understand
I mumbled in reply
Then he walked along beside me
And said let me give it a try
You look like you are off the tracks
Of a line you have long since traveled
You step as if in a minefield
Of a life that has unraveled.
Did you lose a job, a wife, a kid
He asked with a knowing grin
I wondered did he read my mail
And where would I begin.
A job I spit out hastily
He responded with a shrug
Then asked what I was missing
Now that someone pulled the plug
As I stumbled for an answer
To what I missed the most
My mind was doing cartwheels
Being whipped from post to post.
The house, the kids tuition
A night of restful sleep
A place where I feel needed
With some promises to keep.
A place where you feel needed
He mumbled as he strolled
Then handed me some sea glass
Wrapped in a haze of gold.
It's not about where you came from
He said handing me the glass
Focus on tomorrow
Forget about the past.
You see life is about tomorrow
Not what you had before
Then he vanished in the morning mist
and I finally knew the score.

Bad thoughts, self pity, self harm, it may seem harmless to you, but its not the answer to subdue your inner pain deep inside you.
To practice self love, true inner peace, is to be thankful for your God given gifts, you smile from inside out, to bring peace to others, when they around you are filled with darkness and doubt.
The image you see with your eyes is not the true scenery that really counts, for its always starts within deep in your heart. Actions speak louder than words. Show your true peace, beauty with only your arms and hands.
Practice Ahimsa, speak with the tongue, only of true love, for all living things and beings on this earth. Let us be neighbors, friends, what a peaceful wish to dream about, if you try looking at the heart, and not with your mind, for beauty within has no disguise..

I have not seen this sea, which you
speak of so fondly every once in a while.
but I'd hear the slowed-down breathing,
the long pause
when you tell stories of old people
that died, of brave men that once
sailed with their boats
to cross vast continents
and trade,
and then sail again for home
where they’d find their wives and children
waiting for their return.
You are still out there sailing,
and I am here
hoping you'd reach home soon.
I know where that home is.
But you have to fight to get there.
I could wait for centuries
and be still until
you're home finally. Don't fret.
Sail, love, wherever that sea
with its raging current
takes you.
And when you reach shore,
You'll find me there standing,
waiting for you.
This piece is an interpretation of “Layag Sug”
sent by someone known only as Samantha Buendia.
I am posting with permission.

The boy scans the horizon looking into his soul
And the beauty of the waves as they roll
Sun sits just above the lowest cloud in the distance
Today there is no resistance
Breaking into a run for Neptune’s playground
The beat against his board a familiar sound
Smiling to himself for the freedom he knows here
A break he sees the next one is clear
A few strokes and he stands guiding his board
Through the enchanting spray and the roar
A dolphin joins him on the wave their fun evident
A blessing of conjoining spirits now spent
A swell surges from the kiss of the tempest wind
Enraging the boys inner sin
Take hold of the reins Neptune he shouts
Again he braces for the watery bouts
The beach clears of visitors he makes his stand
Today I am no longer boy, but man
The companion sees his courage and swims near
Drowning is his inner fear
The crest of his wave broke only to rise again
Awaking the instincts within
He swims in front of his beast and stands proud
Turning his waist smartly to ride it out
He slips under the ripcurl entering the tunnel
A roar inside hint at disgruntled
The water closes in to seal him in
A chance to break him his back to end
Not quick enough he thinks to himself
As he races back to the beach in health

The earth is a truly incredible place,
but its environment is taken for granted.
The natural beauty of seas and forests are beyond compare,
and yet we continue to pollute and corrupt them.
We depend on our environment for our very existence,
while all the while we continue to destroy it for materialistic gain.
Humanity wishes to thrive, we need to learn to protect,
and embrace this planet and not work against it.
The plants in the highland give us fresh air to inhale,
robbed of her very own-her plants, her animals, her gems,
Seabirds circle above the darkened water,
beholding the water's repelling betrayal.
We no longer listen to what the earth,
its atmospheric phenomena and all its living forms,
its mountains ,rain, wind and valleys,
and all the flora and fauna of the planet are telling us.

This
was a journey
of heart and soul and body.
A place of such beauty
and yet my mind longed for more......
I asked not to be moved from my home
but the father of my children did it all.
That’s how I got so far away.
I protested
but in the end, money won
and I hadn’t any.
So, I adapted
as women do
and bonded with trees and shells and water.
The speed of life was slower
yet I wasn’t.
It felt wrong, incongruous even.
I tolerated
as women do
and piled on warm things in the weather
shivered at my table.
Nothing smelled right here,
I longed for saltwater, sand and sunny days
I hoped
as women do
and cast prayers upon the waterways
stood upon my deck and asked of the moon
Please take me away
feed my mind, care for my body and soul
Let there be a way.....
A way has come and I’m going soon
to the land of sand and sunshine
to salten air and long walks
and surfer boys with boards again
I’m grateful for lessons learned, but boy am I ready. Let it be good this time.

He joked with the nurse till her face, it turned red,
She laughed at those things that the old soldier said;
His barracks was a Veteran’s Hospital bed.
His body was busted but his eyes were bright,
He told her his war stories every night,
She shaved him and she bathed him and she tucked him in tight.
From the Normandy Beach to the banks of the Rhine,
He fought in the front of an infantry line,
He got wounded twice but he struggled on through;
He’s the man who won World War II.
He battled the bottle but he called it a truce,
His liver was pickled from too much abuse;
The doctor just shrugged and he said, “It’s no use.”
The nurse she sure missed him like she knew she would,
His jokes and his memories, they’d made her feel good…
His family, they said they’d have come if they could…
From the Normandy Beach to the banks of the Rhine,
He fought in the front of an infantry line,
He got wounded twice but he struggled on through:
He’s the man who won World War II.

Ever long we stare to the East
The waters dance with glee.
Alluring at the very least
This symphony may be.
We watch those who know this beauty
And those who seek Her cheer,
We watch those who know such bounty
Yet nigh do these folk fear
That this dance be a siren call
A cruel temptress awaits.
Such cacophony nigh to stall
Virgin people from cold fate
For though Her waters can caress
Enveloped in her folds,
Some foolish bathers are remiss
In the power that She holds.
Hark! To arms! Victims call, 'Distress!'
This sound we dread to hear,
"Go now! Repulse death's harsh egress,"
As there is ceaseless fear
That there will be tragic failure
An agile step misplaced,
That the Ocean will call once more,
With smothering embrace.
And so we navigate her waves
The pounding force beware,
The mouth of the Devil himself
Comes here-forth to ensnare.
"Onward, dauntless brothers!" we hear,
"Against the waves we go,
For there is one who was swallowed
Fight for his life so!"
Into the mounting fray we dive,
Against the rising swell.
Now such ranks form to hunt for him
And pull from water'd hell.
Mercilessly, cruel time crawls forth
As lungs begin to burn,
Our hope wilts as it comes to pass
The point of no return.
Yet nigh will we ever desist,
We will reclaim this man.
Duty burns as Sun o'erhead
To bear him back to land.
Near the shore a whistle blasts thrice,
Do I dare to believe?
The call of a search successful,
A body they start to heave.
Hold for his life dearest brothers
Though the water crash down!
It is in obstinate resolve
That you earned your renown.
Hold steadfast, continue the watch
Arrogant creatures we,
To think our meager lives our own,
They belong to the sea.

I love the island.
Island is no man.
When peace is none.
Beautiful island.
With beach.
And white sand.
Before I don't feel the fear.
Fearsome here.
Fearsome there.
Fearsome tell.
Old business dear.
Trade with with slavery.
That's only history.
Shouldn't happen today.
Tomorrow would be great easy.
No abduction.
Fearsome no more.
I love you peace.
Layag Sug!
Daira Semporna
(240614)

Sweeping time under the carpet
Is a time consuming chore,
Like spring cleaning
My consciousness
Upon a shingle shore,
Or picking up the seconds
Strewn along the cutlass beach,
Where the moments linger sadly
Like a daydream out of reach.
Spending hours of contemplation
Where the forest meets the field,
Where the larks rise
From the meadow
Just before the day is sealed,
Can be such an exaltation
In the sheltered heights of time,
As elusive words come slowly
And create another rhyme.
Casting petals to the river
Throwing coins into the crowd,
Just two softly borne illusions
That the seasons have allowed,
In the nest of all creation
Where the eggs of time are hatched,
Moments flutter with emotion
Just before they are dispatched.
Then they twine with every minute
And the minutes turn to hours,
As the course of life is flowing
Through those changeless hanging bowers,
Then the hours cast their garment
At the ending of each day,
Like a wordless golden manuscript
With nothing more to say…

Spending an early morning by the iridescent bay,
body delighted by a whipping breeze:
it's humid and hazy under swollen clouds
that foretell an up-coming storm;
on both side of the parkway
cars speed by, and drivers
have no clue that a traffic cop
is scanning it on the radar!
Some may not go far:
there, the flashing lights of the siren;
I am glad that I obey that law,
while some offenders smirk at a fine!
As the wailing wind progresses on,
so does the intensity of the muggy air;
it supposed to be a festy, sunny day
to unwind and enjoy some sun,
but does Nature think that nasty weather is fair
or is it spiteful, unyielding and tricky?
On a rough checker's table made of oak,
I'm writing my observations
as beach-goers seem to have deserted it;
on a normal day it echoes of music,
of voices so loud and deep!
Now, hungry pigeons and seagulls
feast on wiggling fish,
unmarred by my presence...
that can provoke my appetite,
thinking of a tasteful dish!
Tired of walking the long stretch of beach,
I take off my tinted sunglasses
smudged by dripping sweat;
I'm burning like a lizard in need of relief...
my sunscreen has worn off!
Few more steps, the car door opens:
clothes neatly folded on the back seat,
raindrops hit the windshield as I pick up speed!

Hush the silence, hurt the ignorance,
Hurt in the silence, hushed by your loud heartbeat,
I couldn't fight for you, I wasn't strong enough,
You left me no choice, you pushed me away and pulled someone else close,
Now you want us back but you don't mean it,
Never did. And call me a fool for believing you and my feeble old heart,
Muted by my defeat, a war erupted within and a losing loser I limped away,
The breath of life, never tasted sweet anymore,
I drank to much of you and it turned poison ,
Flowing through my system it ossified my already broken spirit ,
Now the only feeling I have left to converse with is suadade,
But she soon changed her face and I got introduced to fury,
I always felt anger banging at my door, but never paid him mind at all,
But the incessant ringing of a lost war echoing in my ear drums every time you spoke,
Broken me, awakened as slumbering danger with in,
You annihilated the chance for any happiness we could've had,
Now its nothing more than broken smithereens of a future I had so much faith in,
Millions of shards protrude from this heart that beat so faithfully never missing a beat,
But you came around and I got stuck in time, I try to memorize every aspect of you,
But I can't. You already fading from view, a speck in a blurred out photography,
The perfect lasted only for a moment, thats all.
A moment of a lifetime I wanted to share with you,
But it wasn't meant to be, we weren't made to last,
You disrupted the flow of gravity within my universe,
I got carried away, mesmerized by your silver tounge, Inretrospect a shiny danger aimed at my heart,
It wasn'nt to long, plunge you did and I felt it,
Dangerously I hanged precariously from the edge,
The pain gnawed it's way into a already broken me,
What little dreams I had brought nothing but nightmarish revelation of his lips on yours,
The harmony we had, was lost forever.
The silence gouged at my heart, I didnt put up a fight; but my heart gave in freely.
The blood on my hands are testaments to how you obliterated my heart,
Love wouldn't stay so it burrowed it's way out of my heart and left me standing at a precipice called madness,
I dove right in, praying that the past would hold some comfort for my longing broken heart,
Wishing for eternity to grant us passage, but the road we trodded lay in destitute,
The sun set on that part of forever, a forever that would never return,
Now a tarnished man, I roam these desolate corridors of damned loveless hearts.

Oh, I'm Rithee Rithwando
And I live in a condo
On a beach called Redondo
With a girl who's bleach blondo.
And we practice Tae Kwon Do
As we're singing in Rondo
With Don Hector Elizondo
Whom we're very, very fondo.
And he once asked me, "Cuando
"Can you post bail bondo,
"For I'm stuck in Orlondo
"And I cannot abscondo."
"When you give me your Hondo
"Whose top speed is beyondo,"
So sez I to Hectorondo
From the sands of blue Redondo.
"Oye! Not for il mondo
"Or el mejor magic wando
"Would I give you my Hondo,"
Replied Mister Elizondo.
"See you next year," I told him.